1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was formless and empty. Darkness was on the surface of the deep and God’s Spirit was hovering over the surface of the waters.
3 God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw the light, and saw that it was good. God divided the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light “day”, and the darkness he called “night”. There was evening and there was morning, the first day.
6 God said, “Let there be an expanse in the middle of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” 7 God made the expanse, and divided the waters which were under the expanse from the waters which were above the expanse; and it was so. 8 God called the expanse “sky”. There was evening and there was morning, a second day.
9 God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered together to one place, and let the dry land appear;” and it was so. 10 God called the dry land “earth”, and the gathering together of the waters he called “seas”. God saw that it was good. 11 God said, “Let the earth yield grass, herbs yielding seeds, and fruit trees bearing fruit after their kind, with their seeds in it, on the earth;” and it was so. 12 The earth yielded grass, herbs yielding seed after their kind, and trees bearing fruit, with their seeds in it, after their kind; and God saw that it was good. 13 There was evening and there was morning, a third day.
14 God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs to mark seasons, days, and years; 15 and let them be for lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth;” and it was so. 16 God made the two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night. He also made the stars. 17 God set them in the expanse of the sky to give light to the earth, 18 and to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness. God saw that it was good. 19 There was evening and there was morning, a fourth day.
20 God said, “Let the waters abound with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the sky.” 21 God created the large sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarmed, after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind. God saw that it was good. 22 God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” 23 There was evening and there was morning, a fifth day.
24 God said, “Let the earth produce living creatures after their kind, livestock, creeping things, and animals of the earth after their kind;” and it was so. 25 God made the animals of the earth after their kind, and the livestock after their kind, and everything that creeps on the ground after its kind. God saw that it was good.
26 God said, “Let’s make man in our image, after our likeness. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the sky, and over the livestock, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 God created man in his own image. In God’s image he created him; male and female he created them. 28 God blessed them. God said to them, “Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 God said, “Behold,[b] I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is on the surface of all the earth, and every tree, which bears fruit yielding seed. It will be your food. 30 To every animal of the earth, and to every bird of the sky, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food;” and it was so.
31 God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. There was evening and there was morning, a sixth day
2 The heavens, the earth, and all their vast array were finished. 2 On the seventh day God finished his work which he had done; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had done. 3 God blessed the seventh day, and made it holy, because he rested in it from all his work of creation which he had done.
4 This is the history of the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that Yahweh God made the earth and the heavens. 5 No plant of the field was yet in the earth, and no herb of the field had yet sprung up; for Yahweh God had not caused it to rain on the earth. There was not a man to till the ground, 6 but a mist went up from the earth, and watered the whole surface of the ground. 7 Yahweh God formed man from the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. 8 Yahweh God planted a garden eastward, in Eden, and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 Out of the ground Yahweh God made every tree to grow that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food, including the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 10 A river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from there it was parted, and became the source of four rivers. 11 The name of the first is Pishon: it flows through the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; 12 and the gold of that land is good. Bdellium and onyx stone are also there. 13 The name of the second river is Gihon. It is the same river that flows through the whole land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river is Hiddekel. This is the one which flows in front of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates. 15 Yahweh God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate and keep it. 16 Yahweh God commanded the man, saying, “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; 17 but you shall not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die.”
18 Yahweh God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make him a helper comparable to him.” 19 Out of the ground Yahweh God formed every animal of the field, and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. Whatever the man called every living creature became its name. 20 The man gave names to all livestock, and to the birds of the sky, and to every animal of the field; but for man there was not found a helper comparable to him. 21 Yahweh God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. As the man slept, he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. 22 Yahweh God made a woman from the rib which he had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. 23 The man said, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh. She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken out of Man.” 24 Therefore a man will leave his father and his mother, and will join with his wife, and they will be one flesh. 25 The man and his wife were both naked, and they were not ashamed.
3
Now the serpent was more subtle than any animal of the field which Yahweh God had made. He said to the woman, “Has God really said, ‘You shall not eat of any tree of the garden’?”
2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees of the garden, 3 but not the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden. God has said, ‘You shall not eat of it. You shall not touch it, lest you die.’”
4 The serpent said to the woman, “You won’t really die, 5 for God knows that in the day you eat it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
6 When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took some of its fruit, and ate. Then she gave some to her husband with her, and he ate it, too. 7 Their eyes were opened, and they both knew that they were naked. They sewed fig leaves together, and made coverings for themselves. 8 They heard Yahweh God’s voice walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of Yahweh God among the trees of the garden.
9 Yahweh God called to the man, and said to him, “Where are you?” 10 The man said, “I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; so I hid myself.” 11 God said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?” 12 The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” 13 Yahweh God said to the woman, “What have you done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”
14 Yahweh God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you are cursed above all livestock, and above every animal of the field. You shall go on your belly and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. 15 I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will bruise your head, and you will bruise his heel.”
16 To the woman he said, “I will greatly multiply your pain in childbirth. You will bear children in pain. Your desire will be for your husband, and he will rule over you.”
17 To Adam he said, “Because you have listened to your wife’s voice, and have eaten from the tree, about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ the ground is cursed for your sake. You will eat from it with much labor all the days of your life. 18 It will yield thorns and thistles to you; and you will eat the herb of the field. 19 You will eat bread by the sweat of your face until you return to the ground, for you were taken out of it. For you are dust, and you shall return to dust.”
20 The man called his wife Eve because she would be the mother of all the living. 21 Yahweh God made garments of animal skins for Adam and for his wife, and clothed them.
22 Yahweh God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand, and also take of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever—” 23 Therefore Yahweh God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken. 24 So he drove out the man; and he placed cherubim[a] at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life. WEB
God spoke all these words, saying, 2 “I am Yahweh your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3 “You shall have no other gods before me.
4 “You shall not make for yourselves an idol, nor any image of anything that is in the heavens above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: 5 you shall not bow yourself down to them, nor serve them, for I, Yahweh your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and on the fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 and showing loving kindness to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
7 “You shall not misuse the name of Yahweh your God,[b] for Yahweh will not hold him guiltless who misuses his name.
8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 You shall labor six days, and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to Yahweh your God. You shall not do any work in it, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your livestock, nor your stranger who is within your gates; 11 for in six days Yahweh made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day; therefore Yahweh blessed the Sabbath day, and made it holy.
12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land which Yahweh your God gives you.
13 “You shall not murder.
14 “You shall not commit adultery.
15 “You shall not steal.
16 “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.”
18 All the people perceived the thunderings, the lightnings, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking. When the people saw it, they trembled, and stayed at a distance. 19 They said to Moses, “Speak with us yourself, and we will listen; but don’t let God speak with us, lest we die.”
20 Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid, for God has come to test you, and that his fear may be before you, that you won’t sin.” 21 The people stayed at a distance, and Moses came near to the thick darkness where God was.
22 Yahweh said to Moses, “This is what you shall tell the children of Israel: ‘You yourselves have seen that I have talked with you from heaven. 23 You shall most certainly not make gods of silver or gods of gold for yourselves to be alongside me. 24 You shall make an altar of earth for me, and shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your cattle. In every place where I record my name I will come to you and I will bless you. 25 If you make me an altar of stone, you shall not build it of cut stones; for if you lift up your tool on it, you have polluted it. 26 You shall not go up by steps to my altar, that your nakedness may not be exposed to it.’ WEB
1 Yahweh is my shepherd: I shall lack nothing.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.
3 He restores my soul. He guides me in the paths of righteousness.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup runs over.
6 Surely goodness and loving kindness shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in Yahweh’s house forever. WEB
1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of Yahweh, “He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust.”
3 For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler, and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers. Under his wings you will take refuge. His faithfulness is your shield and rampart.
5 You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that wastes at noonday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it will not come near you.
8 You will only look with your eyes, and see the recompense of the wicked.
9 Because you have made Yahweh your refuge, and the Most High your dwelling place,
10 no evil shall happen to you, neither shall any plague come near your dwelling.
11 For he will put his angels in charge of you, to guard you in all your ways.
12 They will bear you up in their hands, so that you won’t dash your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and cobra. You will trample the young lion and the serpent underfoot.
14 “Because he has set his love on me, therefore I will deliver him. I will set him on high, because he has known my name.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him. I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him, and honor him.
16 I will satisfy him with long life, and show him my salvation.” WEB
1 Blessed are those whose ways are blameless, who walk according to Yahweh’s law.
2 Blessed are those who keep his statutes, who seek him with their whole heart.
3 Yes, they do nothing wrong. They walk in his ways.
4 You have commanded your precepts, that we should fully obey them.
5 Oh that my ways were steadfast to obey your statutes!
6 Then I wouldn’t be disappointed, when I consider all of your commandments.
7 I will give thanks to you with uprightness of heart, when I learn your righteous judgments.
8 I will observe your statutes. Don’t utterly forsake me.
9 How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to your word.
10 With my whole heart, I have sought you. Don’t let me wander from your commandments.
11 I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.
12 Blessed are you, Yahweh. Teach me your statutes.
13 With my lips, I have declared all the ordinances of your mouth.
14 I have rejoiced in the way of your testimonies, as much as in all riches.
15 I will meditate on your precepts, and consider your ways.
16 I will delight myself in your statutes. I will not forget your word.
17 Do good to your servant. I will live and I will obey your word.
18 Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things out of your law.
19 I am a stranger on the earth. Don’t hide your commandments from me
20 My soul is consumed with longing for your ordinances at all times.
21 You have rebuked the proud who are cursed, who wander from your commandments.
22 Take reproach and contempt away from me, for I have kept your statutes.
23 Though princes sit and slander me, your servant will meditate on your statutes.
24 Indeed your statutes are my delight, and my counselors.
25 My soul is laid low in the dust. Revive me according to your word!
26 I declared my ways, and you answered me. Teach me your statutes.
27 Let me understand the teaching of your precepts! Then I will meditate on your wondrous works.
28 My soul is weary with sorrow: strengthen me according to your word.
29 Keep me from the way of deceit. Grant me your law graciously!
30 I have chosen the way of truth. I have set your ordinances before me
31 I cling to your statutes, Yahweh. Don’t let me be disappointed.
32 I run in the path of your commandments, for you have set my heart free.
33 Teach me, Yahweh, the way of your statutes. I will keep them to the end.
34 Give me understanding, and I will keep your law. Yes, I will obey it with my whole heart.
35 Direct me in the path of your commandments, for I delight in them.
36 Turn my heart toward your statutes, not toward selfish gain.
37 Turn my eyes away from looking at worthless things. Revive me in your ways.
38 Fulfill your promise to your servant, that you may be feared.
39 Take away my disgrace that I dread, for your ordinances are good.
40 Behold, I long for your precepts! Revive me in your righteousness.
41 Let your loving kindness also come to me, Yahweh, your salvation, according to your word.
42 So I will have an answer for him who reproaches me, for I trust in your word.
43 Don’t snatch the word of truth out of my mouth, for I put my hope in your ordinances.
44 So I will obey your law continually, forever and ever.
45 I will walk in liberty, for I have sought your precepts.
46 I will also speak of your statutes before kings, and will not be disappointed.
47 I will delight myself in your commandments, because I love them.
48 I reach out my hands for your commandments, which I love. I will meditate on your statutes.
49 Remember your word to your servant, because you gave me hope.
50 This is my comfort in my affliction, for your word has revived me.
51 The arrogant mock me excessively, but I don’t swerve from your law.
52 I remember your ordinances of old, Yahweh, and have comforted myself.
53 Indignation has taken hold on me, because of the wicked who forsake your law.
54 Your statutes have been my songs in the house where I live.
55 I have remembered your name, Yahweh, in the night, and I obey your law.
56 This is my way, that I keep your precepts.
57 Yahweh is my portion. I promised to obey your words.
58 I sought your favor with my whole heart. Be merciful to me according to your word.
59 I considered my ways, and turned my steps to your statutes.
60 I will hurry, and not delay, to obey your commandments.
61 The ropes of the wicked bind me, but I won’t forget your law.
62 At midnight I will rise to give thanks to you, because of your righteous ordinances.
63 I am a friend of all those who fear you, of those who observe your precepts.
64 The earth is full of your loving kindness, Yahweh. Teach me your statutes.
65 You have treated your servant well, according to your word, Yahweh.
66 Teach me good judgment and knowledge, for I believe in your commandments.
67 Before I was afflicted, I went astray; but now I observe your word.
68 You are good, and do good. Teach me your statutes.
69 The proud have smeared a lie upon me. With my whole heart, I will keep your precepts.
70 Their heart is as callous as the fat, but I delight in your law.
71 It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I may learn your statutes.
72 The law of your mouth is better to me than thousands of pieces of gold and silver.
73 Your hands have made me and formed me. Give me understanding, that I may learn your commandments.
74 Those who fear you will see me and be glad, because I have put my hope in your word.
75 Yahweh, I know that your judgments are righteous, that in faithfulness you have afflicted me.
76 Please let your loving kindness be for my comfort, according to your word to your servant.
77 Let your tender mercies come to me, that I may live; for your law is my delight.
78 Let the proud be disappointed, for they have overthrown me wrongfully. I will meditate on your precepts.
79 Let those who fear you turn to me. They will know your statutes.
80 Let my heart be blameless toward your decrees, that I may not be disappointed.
81 My soul faints for your salvation. I hope in your word.
82 My eyes fail for your word. I say, “When will you comfort me?”
83 For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke. I don’t forget your statutes.
84 How many are the days of your servant? When will you execute judgment on those who persecute me?
85 The proud have dug pits for me, contrary to your law.
86 All of your commandments are faithful. They persecute me wrongfully. Help me!
87 They had almost wiped me from the earth, but I didn’t forsake your precepts.
88 Preserve my life according to your loving kindness, so I will obey the statutes of your mouth.
89 Yahweh, your word is settled in heaven forever.
90 Your faithfulness is to all generations. You have established the earth, and it remains.
91 Your laws remain to this day, for all things serve you.
92 Unless your law had been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction.
93 I will never forget your precepts, for with them, you have revived me.
94 I am yours. Save me, for I have sought your precepts.
95 The wicked have waited for me, to destroy me. I will consider your statutes.
96 I have seen a limit to all perfection, but your commands are boundless.
97 How I love your law! It is my meditation all day.
98 Your commandments make me wiser than my enemies, for your commandments are always with me.
99 I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation.
100 I understand more than the aged, because I have kept your precepts.
101 I have kept my feet from every evil way, that I might observe your word.
102 I have not turned away from your ordinances, for you have taught me.
103 How sweet are your promises to my taste, more than honey to my mouth!
104 Through your precepts, I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way.
105 Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light for my path.
106 I have sworn, and have confirmed it, that I will obey your righteous ordinances.
107 I am afflicted very much. Revive me, Yahweh, according to your word.
108 Accept, I beg you, the willing offerings of my mouth. Yahweh, teach me your ordinances.
109 My soul is continually in my hand, yet I won’t forget your law.
110 The wicked have laid a snare for me, yet I haven’t gone astray from your precepts.
111 I have taken your testimonies as a heritage forever, for they are the joy of my heart.
112 I have set my heart to perform your statutes forever, even to the end.
113 I hate double-minded men, but I love your law.
114 You are my hiding place and my shield. I hope in your word.
115 Depart from me, you evildoers, that I may keep the commandments of my God.
116 Uphold me according to your word, that I may live.
117 Hold me up, and I will be safe, and will have respect for your statutes continually.
118 You reject all those who stray from your statutes, for their deceit is in vain.
119 You put away all the wicked of the earth like dross. Therefore I love your testimonies.
120 My flesh trembles for fear of you. I am afraid of your judgments.
121 I have done what is just and righteous. Don’t leave me to my oppressors.
122 Ensure your servant’s well-being. Don’t let the proud oppress me.
123 My eyes fail looking for your salvation, for your righteous word.
124 Deal with your servant according to your loving kindness. Teach me your statutes
125 I am your servant. Give me understanding, that I may know your testimonies.
126 It is time to act, Yahweh, for they break your law.
127 Therefore I love your commandments more than gold, yes, more than pure gold.
128 Therefore I consider all of your precepts to be right. I hate every false way.
129 Your testimonies are wonderful, therefore my soul keeps them.
130 The entrance of your words gives light. It gives understanding to the simple.
131 I opened my mouth wide and panted, for I longed for your commandments.
132 Turn to me, and have mercy on me, as you always do to those who love your name.
133 Establish my footsteps in your word. Don’t let any iniquity have dominion over me.
134 Redeem me from the oppression of man, so I will observe your precepts.
135 Make your face shine on your servant. Teach me your statutes.
136 Streams of tears run down my eyes, because they don’t observe your law.
137 You are righteous, Yahweh. Your judgments are upright.
138 You have commanded your statutes in righteousness. They are fully trustworthy.
139 My zeal wears me out, because my enemies ignore your words.
140 Your promises have been thoroughly tested, and your servant loves them.
141 I am small and despised. I don’t forget your precepts.
142 Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness. Your law is truth.
143 Trouble and anguish have taken hold of me. Your commandments are my delight
144 Your testimonies are righteous forever. Give me understanding, that I may live.
145 I have called with my whole heart. Answer me, Yahweh! I will keep your statutes.
146 I have called to you. Save me! I will obey your statutes.
147 I rise before dawn and cry for help. I put my hope in your words.
148 My eyes stay open through the night watches, that I might meditate on your word.
149 Hear my voice according to your loving kindness. Revive me, Yahweh, according to your ordinances.
150 They draw near who follow after wickedness. They are far from your law.
151 You are near, Yahweh. All your commandments are truth.
152 Of old I have known from your testimonies, that you have founded them forever.
153 Consider my affliction, and deliver me, for I don’t forget your law.
154 Plead my cause, and redeem me! Revive me according to your promise.
155 Salvation is far from the wicked, for they don’t seek your statutes.
156 Great are your tender mercies, Yahweh. Revive me according to your ordinances.
157 Many are my persecutors and my adversaries. I haven’t swerved from your testimonies.
158 I look at the faithless with loathing, because they don’t observe your word.
159 Consider how I love your precepts. Revive me, Yahweh, according to your loving kindness.
160 All of your words are truth. Every one of your righteous ordinances endures forever.
161 Princes have persecuted me without a cause, but my heart stands in awe of your words.
162 I rejoice at your word, as one who finds great plunder.
163 I hate and abhor falsehood. I love your law.
164 Seven times a day, I praise you, because of your righteous ordinances.
165 Those who love your law have great peace. Nothing causes them to stumble.
166 I have hoped for your salvation, Yahweh. I have done your commandments.
167 My soul has observed your testimonies. I love them exceedingly.
168 I have obeyed your precepts and your testimonies, for all my ways are before you.
169 Let my cry come before you, Yahweh. Give me understanding according to your word.
170 Let my supplication come before you. Deliver me according to your word.
171 Let my lips utter praise, for you teach me your statutes.
172 Let my tongue sing of your word, for all your commandments are righteousness.
173 Let your hand be ready to help me, for I have chosen your precepts.
174 I have longed for your salvation, Yahweh. Your law is my delight.
175 Let my soul live, that I may praise you. Let your ordinances help me.
176 I have gone astray like a lost sheep. Seek your servant, for I don’t forget your commandments. WEB
1 Yahweh, you have searched me, and you know me.
2 You know my sitting down and my rising up. You perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 For there is not a word on my tongue, but, behold, Yahweh, you know it altogether.
5 You hem me in behind and before. You laid your hand on me.
6 This knowledge is beyond me. It’s lofty. I can’t attain it.
7 Where could I go from your Spirit? Or where could I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend up into heaven, you are there. If I make my bed in Sheol,[a] behold, you are there!
9 If I take the wings of the dawn, and settle in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there your hand will lead me, and your right hand will hold me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will overwhelm me. The light around me will be night,
12 even the darkness doesn’t hide from you, but the night shines as the day. The darkness is like light to you.
13 For you formed my inmost being. You knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I will give thanks to you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Your works are wonderful. My soul knows that very well.
15 My frame wasn’t hidden from you, when I was made in secret, woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my body. In your book they were all written, the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there were none of them.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is their sum!
18 If I would count them, they are more in number than the sand. When I wake up, I am still with you.
19 If only you, God, would kill the wicked. Get away from me, you bloodthirsty men!
20 For they speak against you wickedly. Your enemies take your name in vain.
21 Yahweh, don’t I hate those who hate you? Am I not grieved with those who rise up against you?
22 I hate them with perfect hatred. They have become my enemies.
23 Search me, God, and know my heart. Try me, and know my thoughts.
24 See if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way. WEB
1 Who has believed our message? To whom has Yahweh’s arm been revealed?
2 For he grew up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground. He has no good looks or majesty. When we see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of suffering and acquainted with disease. He was despised as one from whom men hide their face; and we didn’t respect him.
4 Surely he has borne our sickness and carried our suffering; yet we considered him plagued, struck by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought our peace was on him; and by his wounds we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray. Everyone has turned to his own way; and Yahweh has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed, yet when he was afflicted he didn’t open his mouth. As a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and as a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he didn’t open his mouth.
8 He was taken away by oppression and judgment. As for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living and stricken for the disobedience of my people?
9 They made his grave with the wicked, and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it pleased Yahweh to bruise him. He has caused him to suffer. When you make his soul an offering for sin, he will see his offspring. He will prolong his days and Yahweh’s pleasure will prosper in his hand.
11 After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light[a] and be satisfied, My righteous servant will justify many by the knowledge of himself; and he will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will give him a portion with the great. He will divide the plunder with the strong; because he poured out his soul to death and was counted with the transgressors; yet he bore the sins of many and made intercession for the transgressors. WEB
1 It pleased Darius to set over the kingdom one hundred twenty local governors, who should be throughout the whole kingdom;
2 and over them three presidents, of whom Daniel was one; that these local governors might give account to them, and that the king should suffer no loss. 3 Then this Daniel was distinguished above the presidents and the local governors, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm.
4 Then the presidents and the local governors sought to find occasion against Daniel as touching the kingdom; but they could find no occasion or fault, because he was faithful. There wasn’t any error or fault found in him. 5 Then these men said, “We won’t find any occasion against this Daniel, unless we find it against him concerning the law of his God.”
6 Then these presidents and local governors assembled together to the king, and said this to him, “King Darius, live forever! 7 All the presidents of the kingdom, the deputies and the local governors, the counselors and the governors, have consulted together to establish a royal statute, and to make a strong decree, that whoever asks a petition of any god or man for thirty days, except of you, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions. 8 Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it not be changed, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which doesn’t alter.” 9 Therefore king Darius signed the writing and the decree.
10 When Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house (now his windows were open in his room toward Jerusalem) and he kneeled on his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did before. 11 Then these men assembled together, and found Daniel making petition and supplication before his God. 12 Then they came near, and spoke before the king concerning the king’s decree: “Haven’t you signed a decree that every man who makes a petition to any god or man within thirty days, except to you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions?”
The king answered, “This thing is true, according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which doesn’t alter.”
13 Then they answered and said before the king, “That Daniel, who is of the children of the captivity of Judah, doesn’t respect you, O king, nor the decree that you have signed, but makes his petition three times a day.” 14 Then the king, when he heard these words, was very displeased, and set his heart on Daniel to deliver him; and he labored until the going down of the sun to rescue him.
15 Then these men assembled together to the king, and said to the king, “Know, O king, that it is a law of the Medes and Persians, that no decree nor statute which the king establishes may be changed.”
16 Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. The king spoke and said to Daniel, “Your God whom you serve continually, he will deliver you.”
17 A stone was brought, and laid on the mouth of the den; and the king sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords; that nothing might be changed concerning Daniel. 18 Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting. No musical instruments were brought before him; and his sleep fled from him.
19 Then the king arose very early in the morning, and went in haste to the den of lions. 20 When he came near to the den to Daniel, he cried with a troubled voice. The king spoke and said to Daniel, “Daniel, servant of the living God, is your God, whom you serve continually, able to deliver you from the lions?”
21 Then Daniel said to the king, “O king, live forever! 22 My God has sent his angel, and has shut the lions’ mouths, and they have not hurt me; because as before him innocence was found in me; and also before you, O king, I have done no harm.”
23 Then the king was exceedingly glad, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no kind of harm was found on him, because he had trusted in his God.
24 The king commanded, and they brought those men who had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions, them, their children, and their wives; and the lions mauled them, and broke all their bones in pieces, before they came to the bottom of the den.
25 Then king Darius wrote to all the peoples, nations, and languages, who dwell in all the earth: “Peace be multiplied to you.
26 “I make a decree that in all the dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel; “for he is the living God, and steadfast forever. His kingdom is that which will not be destroyed. His dominion will be even to the end.
27 He delivers and rescues. He works signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who has delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.”28 So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.
28 So this Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian. WEB